What it is:

An electronics kit and manual that make learning about transistors and wiring up logic circuits simple and fun. Using a breadboard with color-coded wires, and a kind of breadboard helper (the "Pixie") wiring up the example logic circuits is easy to learn.

Who it is for:

This kit is meant for someone curious about the origin of the modern digital computer—curious about the basic building blocks that were made from just transistors and resistors (RTL, or resistor-transistor logic). It should be easy enough for anyone new to electronics who wants to learn by doing.

Not included:

The Transistor Logic Pixie requires a USB-C cable and power to function. Most people have a means to connect USB-C power so I did not include it. If you do not have a USB-C power supply and cable, an example is this one from Amazon.

Everything else is included: manual, wires, breadboard and of course the Transistor Logic Pixie.

What it does:

The full color manual contains a dozen or so circuits you can follow along and build. It lays flat making it easy to follow the wiring steps and insert the wires into the breadboard to connect up the various resistors and transistors. A schematic for each circuit gives you a more technical map of how the electronic components work together. Each circuit is explained (and often there are challenges to go further and extend your knowledge of electronics). Push buttons represent the inputs to the logic gates and latches, LED's illuminate to indicate the "state" of the circuits.

In addition to a number of simple logic gates, there are also included more advanced circuits that introduce flip-flops and other types of "latching" circuits—these are the building blocks of computer memory.

By exploring this kit you should end up with a good grasp of how transistors make modern computers possible.

Circuits:

The Transistor Logic Pixie kit includes all parts needed and instruction in the manual to build:

• Simple Buffer
• NOT (inverter) logic gate
• AND logic gate
• NAND logic gate
• OR logic gate
• NOR logic gate
• Bistable Multivibrator
• Monostable Multivibrator
• Astable Multivibrator
• T (toggle) Flip-Flop

History:

In a way, this kit harkens back to the electronic kits that Radio Shack™ used to sell in the 1970's. But rather than the spring terminals used on those kits for interconnecting electrical components, the Pixie plugs into a breadboard—the modern equivalent of the "spring terminals". Going with a kind of "breadboard helper" also makes this kit a kind of stepping stone to using breadboards by yourself to construct your own circuits. (And it means too that it is easy to extend the Pixie by adding your own electrical components in unused portions of the breadboard and simply wiring them into your circuit.)

The Transistor Logic Pixie brings all the electronic components you need to build various RTL circuits onto a single printed circuit board (PCB). Wires are pre-cut and color-coded that, combined with the manual, make wiring the circuits simple.